Bombay High Court criticises govt. over malnutrition deaths in Maharashtra’s tribal regions

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (November 12, 2025) pulled up the Maharashtra and Union government for an “extremely casual” approach to handling the malnutrition issue among infants in the State’s tribal regions.

The Bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh Patil was hearing a series of petitions filed over the infant deaths due to malnourishment in Amravati district’s Melghat region, a tribal-dominant area, where chronic malnutrition has existed for years. The court called the situation “horrific”, saying “the government should be concerned”.

During the hearing, the petitioner drew attention to the fact that from June 2025 to date, 65 infants aged between zero and six months had died due to malnutrition in Melghat. The court noted that, despite several orders since 2001, the problem persists like a plague due to a lack of implementation of those directives.

‘Pneumonia, not malnutrition’

However, the State government claimed these deaths happened due to pneumonia and not malnutrition. To this, the court asked, “Whether the 2001 court order to construct a multi-speciality hospital in the area was actually implemented?” No answer was received.

Calling out the State government, the court said: “This shows your seriousness on the issue. The approach is extremely casual, and many things need answers from you.”

On the documents presented by the State reflecting the efforts taken, the court stated: “Everything looks good on paper, but far from reality.”

The court ordered principal secretaries of the public health, tribal affairs, women and child development, and finance departments to submit affidavits on the measures taken in detail and appear in court on November 24.